feasibility of raspberry (rubus idaeus l.) cultivar cultivation under greenhouse conditions

This study was conducted to evaluate the performance of four red raspberry cultivars, namely 'encore', 'rosana', 'polana', and 'saanich', under hydroponic cultivation in a greenhouse. two-year-old plants were grown in 12-l pots containing a raspberry-specific substrate, using an open drip hydroponic system. the substrate consisted of 40–45% processed wood fiber, 20–25% processed pine bark fiber, 25–30% processed pumice, 1–2% hardening agent, and 0.5–1% wetting agent. plants were fertigated with a standard nutrient solution formulated for raspberry production. 'encore' exhibited superior vegetative growth, recording the highest plant height (142 cm), stem diameter (7.24 mm), internode length (3.25 cm), and number of suckers per plant (3.5), while 'rosana' had the highest leaf number (38). 'encore' significantly outperformed the other cultivars, with the highest number of fruits per plant (31), fruits per inflorescence (6), inflorescences per plant (5.25), fruit weight (1.4 g), and receptacle diameter (15.35 mm). 'polana' flowered and fruited earlier than the other cultivars, whereas 'encore' required a longer period to flowering and harvest. the highest tss was recorded in 'polana' (8.87). the highest total phenolic content among the evaluated cultivars was found in 'saanich' (55.45) and 'polana' (53.85), while the highest anthocyanin content was observed in 'rosana' (30.83). the highest vitamin c content was recorded in 'encore' and 'polana' (11.66). 'polana' showed earlier flowering and favorable biochemical characteristics, 'encore' demonstrated the best vegetative growth and yield performance. therefore, 'encore' can be recommended as the most suitable cultivar for hydroponic greenhouse raspberry production.